Well That Was A Pretty Brutal Rejection

But how exactly am I gonna win her over?

Elizabeth is actively avoiding me and displaying cold, even hostile behavior.

My options are pretty limited.

Or rather, I don't have any idea what to do. Thinking about it now, it has always been Eli-chan that shows her love for me.

I barely have any memories where I'm the one doing something for her.

Oh hell, I took her for granted, huh?

Hmmmmm...

While thinking of what I can do for her, I reach the school.

I guess I'll start by calling her name, as is. It's actually pretty weird that I refer to her with a Japanese honorifics.

Can't be helped. I was a weeb back then.

Calling her by her first name will be a sign of intimacy.

“Sigh,” I can't help but sigh. I know Eli-cha— Elizabeth will ignore me. “Whatever.”

In the classroom, Elizabeth is already there. She seems so distant. She's busy writing in a notebook.

I'm pretty sure she already felt my presence. But she's acting as if I don't exist.

I walk towards her. Our classmates look at my hand then my face. In response, some roll their eyes on me, while some chuckle, some feel embarrassed and some are indifferent.

I stop in front of Elizabeth. There's no way she still doesn't know I'm already here.

“Elizabeth,” err.. for some reason, I sound weird. Maybe I'm too used to calling her ‘Eli-chan.’ “Come on, don't ignore me.”

She looks up from her notebook, her eyebrows furrowed in weariness, seemingly exhausted from dealing with me, “What?”

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“Here,” I give her a bouquet of roses. I don't know if I should say something else. But I can't seem to think of anything to say. I feel oddly nervous and I'm not used to this.

“Oooooohhhh,” our classmates collectively say. They're all giving us a curious look.

Elizabeth pauses her writing, her hands trembling slightly. She lowers her face, hiding her expression from me. After a brief silence, she speaks in a shaky voice, “Why..?” There's a hint of annoyance in her tone, and when she finally looks up, her glare pierces through me.

“‘Why?’ huh? No particular reason. Will you please take it?” Bloody hell! My mind isn't functioning properly. I should have said something flirtatious. What the heck was that response?

“.............” Elizabeth remains silent. Suddenly, she stands up and takes the flowers from my hands.

Our classmates become cheery.

Elizabeth walks away. Unsurprisingly, the cheeriness of my classmates turns to gasps as they witness Elizabeth throwing the bouquet of roses into the garbage bin.

Afterwards, she goes back to her seat as if she just didn't leave us in shock.

I expected this. But I feel... irritated for some reason. Courting her will be a lot harder than I thought.

Some of my classmates look at me with pity. Some are laughing.

I ignore all of them and I take my seat...

The class period ends. As expected, Rose and Mary come to me. Mae seems like she also wants to get closer but is being held back by Elizabeth.

“Hey, are you okay?” Rose asks worriedly but her face is showing a rather annoyed expression.

“Nice, my dear Rose is worried. Fufu. My heart is healed,” I tease her.

Rose seems to want to punch me but she holds herself back, “Arrgh— Hmmmp. It's because you're like this... Ha! You deserve this.”

“Umm.. Rose, don't be mean,” Mary scolds her. “Mark-kun, we heard what happened. The whole school is talking about Elizabeth rejecting another guy. Don't worry, this is a lot more common that's why the gossips will eventually die down.”

“I don't really care about that.”

“What happened between the two of you anyway? Did you finally break up?” Rose raises one of her eyebrows.

“We haven't. Just having some issues.”

“Mark-kun, we can help—” Mary is saying something kind but Rose interjects.

”What do you mean by ‘we’? I won't help this bastard!” Rose rolls her eyes, dismissing the idea. As she heads outside, she adds, “I don't care about him at all!”

“Eeeeeh?! Rose.. Don't be like that. Mark-kun is a friend— hey! Don't leave!” Mary follows her hurriedly. “Don't ignore me! Hey! Rose!”

When they are gone, the entire class begins to whisper. They're probably gossiping about how stupid I am.

“Ahhh…” I groan and rub my temples. I need to figure out how to handle Elizabeth right now.

I am really tempted to push her down and kiss her like what I did back then. But that won't do any good right now. She might just use it as an excuse to distance herself further.

I don't want to make things worse. I need to find a way to be sweet with her. And somehow, someway, I need to fix the main problem. For now however, I'll have to endure Elizabeth's attitude.

At least, until I figure out a solution.

I wonder if my advances will work. What if she actually hates me?

Bloody hell. Then so be it. I'll just have to do what I can.